k.d. lang (centre) with new playmates Neko and Laura.
WITH ONE OF the finest voices in music and a songwriting talent to match, k.d lang has long been one of music’s true icons. Even Madonna called her “the new Elvis”. She crossed over from her beloved country music to pop when she decided to out herself in 1992 – winning a bucketful of Grammy Awards along the way for her dreamy Ingenue album.
From that point on, the feisty k.d (Kathryn Dawn to her Canadian mom) decided she was only going to do things she liked, or approved of. That included a goofy disco duet with Elton John, crooning mournful love songs for the Red Hot + Blue charity albums, writing strange soundtracks for even stranger movies like Even Cowgirls Get The Blues and performing the theme for the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies.